La Mesa-Spring Valley School District v. Sheila Bayne and Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc.; Sheila Bayne, Esq.; and Michelle Wilkolaski, Esq.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Gonzalo P. Curiel (author)
Analysis
Defendant Sheila Bayne and Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc. moved for leave to electronically file documents. The court granted the motion for the individual defendant but denied it for the corporate defendant, ordering the corporation to proceed through licensed counsel.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting Defendant Sheila Bayne's motion for leave to electronically file documents“Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS Defendant Sheila Bayne’s, an individual, motion for leave to electronically file documents using the Court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the local administrative policy which permits pro se litigants to file electronically upon a showing of good cause. The order recites that good cause appears, satisfying the procedural requirement for an individual party. |
Denying Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc.'s motion for leave to electronically file documents“The Court DENIES Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc.’s motion for leave to electronically file documents.” | agree with court The court correctly identified that a corporation cannot appear pro se in federal court. By denying the motion, the court enforced the requirement that the corporate entity must be represented by licensed counsel, consistent with federal law and local rules. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly distinguishes between the individual defendant and the corporate defendant. It applies the correct Supreme Court precedent (Rowland) and local rules to deny the corporate entity's request to proceed pro se/electronically, while granting the individual's request based on the administrative manual's allowance for good cause. The reasoning is direct and legally sound.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LA MESA-SPRING VALLEY SCHOOL Case No.: 26cv2269-GPC(SBC) DISTRICT , 12 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND Plaintiff, 13 DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT v. SHEILA BAYNE AND LAW OFFICE 14 OF SHEILA BAYNE, INC.’S THE LAW OFFICE OF SHEILA 15 MOTION FOR LEAVE TO BAYNES; SHEILA BAYNE, ESQ.; and ELECTRONICALLY FILE 16 MICHELLE WILKOLASKI, ESQ., DOCUMENTS 17 Defendants. [Dkt. No. 13.] 18 19 Before the Court is Defendant Sheila Bayne and Law Office of Sheila Bayne, 20 Inc.’s motion for leave to electronically file documents. (Dkt. No. 13.) 21 Section 2(b) of the Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures 22 Manual permits a pro se litigant to file electronically only if authorized by the Court. 23 Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS Defendant Sheila Bayne’s, an individual, 24 motion for leave to electronically file documents using the Court’s Case 25 Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system. In accordance with section 2(b) 26 of the Court’s Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, 27 28 1 || Defendant is instructed that she “must register as a user with the Clerk’s Office as a 2 || subscriber to PACER within five (5) days.” 3 However, Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc. may not appear pro se and must 4 || proceed with counsel. See Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, Unit II Men’s Advisory 5 || Council, 506 U.S. 194, 202 (1993) (“lower courts have uniformly held that 28 U.S.C. § 6 || 1654, providing that ‘parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by 7 counsel,’ does not allow corporations, partnerships, or associations to appear in federal 8 court otherwise than through a licensed attorney.”); Civil Local Rule 83.3; (‘AII other 9 || parties, including corporations, partnerships and other legal entities, may appear in court 10 || only through an attorney permitted to practice pursuant to Civil Local Rule 83.3.”). The 11 Court DENIES Law Office of Sheila Bayne, Inc.’s motion for leave to electronically file 12 documents. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 || Dated: July 14, 2026 2 sf Id Hon. athe Ck 16 United States District Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28